title: Anterior cruciate ligament bracing: evidence in providing stability and preventing injury or graft re-rupture.
abstract: Ligamentous knee injuries are common and costly, both in financial terms and time missed from work and recreational activities. Furthermore, ligamentous injuries appear to predispose patients to future osteoarthritis and other morbidities. Therefore, prevention strategies are important in limiting the potential impact of these injuries. Knee braces are one of the most often prescribed devices in the billion-dollar orthotic industry. Despite widespread use of prophylactic and functional knee braces, the evidence supporting their efficacy in reducing and/or preventing injury remains limited. Knee braces have been shown to be more effective in preventing medial collateral ligament injuries than anterior cruciate ligament injuries in both cadaveric and clinical studies. The use of functional braces after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction has been supported and refuted in both postoperative and long-term studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: Blake M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Bodendorfer
authors.forename: Afshin A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Anoushiravani
authors.forename: Brian T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Feeley
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction; D001915:Braces; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012421:Rupture / Q000517:prevention & control